Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Asheville Calling

Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of St. Bernardus! That's Lane, beer snob numero uno, doling out some of his premium birthday libations. Yes, the son-of-a-gun turned 29 this past Sunday (which by the way marks the official "one year to go" for George W. Bush), and decided to share some of that tasty fermented goodness with his other beer snob friends (numero dos, tres, and quatro, not pictured), who were there to celebrate the momentous occasion.

The long Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend lent itself to a leisurely visit in Asheville, NC with friends Lane and Sarah, who have recently returned to the the Upper South from a stint in the resort town of St. Simon's, GA. We were also joined by the newly bearded Nate Judd (which he affirms is in no way a "protest beard", like so many of those dubious facial frocks that adorned the comics of the Late Night circuit as of late, but rather the fruits of his laziness). As always, a visit to the Seabolts' house is a much-welcomed respite from the banality of Tuscaloosa--a chance to visit nice restaurants, see film, and most importantly to drink good beer. And I should also say, to be in community with such dear friends! Although the temperatures were brisk, we managed to enjoy the wintry landscape by strolling around in Asheville's downtown, taking a hike in the woods, and making the short trek to the neighborhood pubs, boggans and scarfs in place. And when it got cold enough that we couldn't feel our noses, we found repose back at the house, cozied up by the fireplace, on the couch with the latest crossword puzzle (part of Lane's daily routine, way to keep those synapses firing man!), or doubled over laughing at something (a wise-crack by Andy, or a lively if not interminably long game of Trivial Pursuit, where the rolling of the dice was interspersed with the spraying of Febreeze).

Congrats to the Seabolts for their newly improved and renovated (thanks to their labor-intensive efforts) house, to Sarah on her burgeoning art career (check out her stuff at www.sarahseabolt.com) and to Lane on his musical endeavors (check out some of his art and his music at www.laneseabolt.com - how sweet, his and her websites!). And also on one stinkin' cute dog named Vern (see below).